Valerie Hansen - Out of the Depths

“I know. I can’t apologize enough for being such a klutz.” Starting to turn away she paused and stared directly at Cody. Careful to deliver her remarks with a straight face she added, “Even if my dress was okay I probably wouldn’t stay to eat. I don’t much care for roast beef and mashed potatoes without lots of gravy.”

She could hear him chuckling softly as she hurried from the room. Good. At least one positive thing had come out of the worst social disaster of her life.

Reaching the guest bathroom on the ground floor, Trudy Lynn heard a ruckus behind her. Poor Becky. It sounded as if there was more trouble brewing.

She was turning the knob to open the closed bathroom door when Cody’s strong, deep voice rose above the clamor.

“No!” he shouted. “Don’t open that door!”

What a strange thing to shout, Trudy Lynn mused. She knew Cody couldn’t be yelling at her. All the guests and their hosts were accounted for in the other room, so she certainly wouldn’t be intruding on anyone. The sooner she got her dress rinsed out and could assess the damage, the happier she’d be.

An odd clumping sound echoed in the hallway. Ignoring it, she stepped into the bathroom and shut the door. Her eyes widened. Her breath caught. She wasn’t alone.

An animal as big and furry as a black bear was napping on the floor. Before she could decide what to do, the creature opened its warm brown eyes, saw her, yawned and began to pant.

“You’re a dog?” Trudy whispered. Her voice rose as she realized she was right. “You’re a dog. What a relief!”

The animal apparently took her words as an invitation. It leaped to its feet with a lot more agility than she’d imagined anything that size could possess and in one lumbering, tail-wagging stride was crowding against her, clearly begging for attention.

Deciding to assert authority before the situation got out of control, she said, “Good boy. Settle down,” and tried to push the overly affectionate canine away.

Using her hands was a mistake. The dog took one whiff of the traces of gravy on her fingers and proceeded to lick them with a pink tongue as wide as her palm.

Trudy giggled. “Hey, that tickles.”

To her delight, the dog cocked its head and looked up at her as if it were in on the joke. Its nostrils twitched, sniffing the air. “Oh, no. Not the dress,” she said firmly. “If you want any more gravy you’ll have to wait till I bring you some in a dish.”

The impromptu training session was going quite well until Cody banged on the door.

“What?” Trudy Lynn called.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course.”

“Stand back. I’m coming in.”

The sound of his voice had already excited the dog so much it was spinning in circles. When he burst through the door, it raised on its hind legs and put its broad front feet on Trudy Lynn’s shoulders, bringing their faces nose-to-nose.

She twisted away. “Phew! Dog breath. Down boy.”

“Sailor. Stop that.” Cody gave the dog’s collar a tug. It landed on all four feet with a soft thump.

Once again, Trudy Lynn held out her hands to her new canine buddy and let him lick her fingers. “He wasn’t hurting anything. We were getting along fine till you showed up and distracted him.”

“Nonsense. Sailor only listens to me. I took him to obedience school, but he’s been a lot harder to manage since I got hurt.”

“I’m not surprised. You’ve probably been acting overly cautious and he’s sensing an opening to become the alpha dog. He’ll gladly be the boss if you let him.”

“You’re crazy. He knows I’m still in charge.” Cody tried to grab the dog’s collar again and was almost pulled off balance for his trouble. “Go on. Get out of here,” he told her gruffly. “I can handle this.”

“Oh really?” Forgetting her stained dress and disheveled appearance, Trudy Lynn faced him, hands fisted on her hips. “And who’s going to handle you when you wind up in a heap on the floor or break your leg all over again? It won’t be your dog’s fault if that happens. It’ll be yours.”

Sailor had left his arguing companions and was cavorting around the cramped room like a hamster in an exercise wheel. A very large hamster. In a very small wheel.

“Sailor. Get over here,” Cody demanded.

The dog looked at him as if to say, You’ve got to be kidding. I’m having too much fun.

Trudy Lynn stepped forward and calmly said, “Sailor?” She pointed to the floor at her feet. “Come here.” As soon as he obeyed she added, “Good boy. Sit.”

“Beginner’s luck,” Cody muttered.

“Maybe.” She nodded toward the door. “You go first. I’ve decided to wash in the upstairs bathroom, instead.”

“Good decision.”

As soon as they were both safely in the hall and the dog was isolated in the bathroom again, Trudy apologized. “I didn’t mean to usurp your authority. I just wanted to show you how being firm will work with a big lummox like that. He’s a Newfoundland, isn’t he? I love him. I saw one like that win Best-in-Show at Westminster a few years ago.”

“Yes. I’d heard they were an easy breed to train. Too bad Sailor’s not as intelligent as he’s supposed to be.”

“Oh, I don’t know. He’s smart enough to have you buffaloed.”

“I told you. It’s different since I’ve been on these stupid crutches.”

“I imagine a lot of things are,” Trudy Lynn said. “And since I know you don’t want to hear my opinion about making adjustments to change, I’ll save my breath.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Are you about ready to eat?”

She glanced at her dress and grimaced. “I refuse to come to the table looking like this. Folks in Serenity may be relaxed and casual, but this outfit is way over the top. Give your sister my regrets, will you?”

“Nope.”

“What?”

“You heard me. I’m trying your training method. No.”

“That’s for dogs, not people.”

“Whatever works. Becky can loan you some clean clothes if you want. She’s already warned us we’ll sit there and wait for you till we starve, if necessary.”

“It would serve her right if I came to the table just like this,” Trudy Lynn said with disgust.

“That’s okay by me,” Cody drawled, raising an eyebrow and looking her up and down before breaking out in a quirky smile. “I think you should consider changing, though. Sailor’s losing his winter coat. I don’t mind gravy stains, but that black dog hair all over your skirt is probably a bit much, even for laid-back folks like Becky and Logan.”

In the end, Trudy Lynn gave in and accepted an oversize shirt and slacks from her friend’s closet. Hurrying to the table, she was relieved to see that the others had already begun to fill their plates.

Becky quickly explained. “Dad has to get going soon, so we finally started without you. I’m sorry.”

“Not a problem,” Trudy Lynn replied, smiling across the table at the older man. “Why don’t you stay over and leave in the morning when you’re not so tired? I know it’s a long drive.” She shot a quick wink at the woman seated beside him. “Besides, I’m sure Carol Sue would like to get to know you better. She’s a widow, you know.”

“Can’t. Cody’s going to need the extra bed,” Dan said pleasantly. “I suppose I could get a room at a motel.”

“Absolutely not.” Becky was adamant. “If you want to stay over we’ll make a place for you here. Somehow.”

“Or, I could put him up,” Trudy Lynn offered. She took a spoonful of mashed potatoes, then set the bowl down. “I almost always have a few empty cabins, Dan. If you stayed overnight at my campground, maybe you could help us by listening for the vandal who’s been wrecking my canoes.”

The platter of meat came her way and she grasped it firmly. Fork raised to choose a slice, she suddenly froze in midmotion. Her gaze met Becky’s, then darted to Cody and lingered.

He noticed immediately and scowled. “What?”

“Just thinking,” Trudy Lynn said.

“About what? Have I missed something?”

“No. I was just wondering. I do have some available cabins, like I said, and I could use help. Would you be interested in spending some time at my campground?”

Cody cast a disgusted look at the crutches he’d propped against the wall. “Doing what?”

Her growing enthusiasm made Trudy Lynn grin in spite of his dour expression. This was the answer to everyone’s prayers, including her own. “Watching. I can use an extra pair of eyes. That’s all you’d have to do. In exchange, I’d give you free room and board.”

“I can get the same deal right here,” he argued.

“Okay. What about Sailor? I have a river and woods for him to explore that are far from dangerous traffic. And you’ll get a rustic cabin he can’t possibly hurt, even if he sheds a truckload of hair. It’s perfect. How can you turn down an offer like that? Your poor dog can’t spend weeks shut up in a bathroom.”

“I know.” Cody was pensive. “What’s the terrain like?”

“Flat, mostly. My basic operation is down by the Spring River on an old floodplain. You’ll have to climb to get to the camp store, but if you need groceries or anything, I’ll be glad to bring them to you.”

“It might work.” He looked to his sister. “I know you had your heart set on having me stay here. At least you did until you found out I was bringing my dog. Would you be too upset if Sailor and I spent a little time roughing it?”

“Well, I suppose it would be okay, if that’s what you want. A city lot with no fence isn’t a good place for a dog. I’d hate to have to chain him up to keep him safe.”

Trudy could tell her friend was having a terrible time suppressing a satisfied grin. No wonder. Becky and Logan were getting everything they’d asked for, with one notable exception.

“There is a small catch,” Trudy Lynn said seriously. “I can’t pay you anything. I’m sorry.”

“When I worked, it wasn’t because I had to, it was because I loved my job,” Cody replied. “I have some investments that provide income. If you have Internet access I can tap into once a week, I’ll have everything I need.”

“I do! My cousin Jim uses it all the time. He keeps the camp books for me.” She smiled and arched an eyebrow. “I hate math. Give me a sunny afternoon, a picnic lunch, a cool river for swimming or canoeing and I’m as happy as can be.”

It wasn’t until Cody clenched his jaw and looked away that she realized how her innocent banter must have hurt him. Granted, her stretch of the Spring River wasn’t a thrilling rapids but the comparison was there just the same. She’d have to remember to watch what she said, at least for a while. There was healing for Cody Keringhoven in the peaceful beauty of her campground. She could sense it. That was the most important thing.

And if he actually managed to help identify the vandal who’d been plaguing her lately? Trudy Lynn bowed her head and let her hair swing against her cheeks to hide her insightful smile. If that did happen, she might consider his success a very surprising answer to prayer, but she wasn’t going to hold her breath waiting for it.

Getting Sailor into the back of her truck hadn’t been nearly as difficult as Trudy Lynn had imagined it would be. Loading his master into the front seat, however, had turned out to be a real trial. Cody’s behavior had been far too stoic to suit her. There was no way to tell if she’d accidentally caused him pain in spite of her monumental efforts to be careful, and that upset her greatly.